travels, escape and espresso

Just my life, raw and uncut

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Twenty-two days have gone by and so far this year and yet it feels like this year is going to by faster than the one before.

Traveling this week was brutal; Sudbury on Tuesday. It was certainly cold and snowy and a long way to go just for a meeting that lasted no more than 2 hrs. Somehow we need to get these meetings into the technology business mainstream to save everyone more time. Yes again, TIME factors in.

Then on Thursday spent 12 hours getting to Prince George. Seriously, the plane was late leaving Toronto (so glad I changed my flight so I wouldn't miss my connection). Spent 5 and a half hrs in a plane to arrive a little late, but still plenty of time to make the connection. Grabbed a coffee, sat and down loaded and transferred e-mail that I worked on during the flight and packed up the etch-o-sketch (my laptops new name), walked to the gate to find out the plane that should have started boarding in 5 minutes was delayed 15 minutes. That turned into another 15, and then another 30 minutes. Called the people I was meeting who all flew in from 4 different cities even though all of their planes were late too, mine was the most meeting disruptive. Another 40 minutes later, we took off. I tuned up and was 2 hours late, everyone else was getting ready to leave and catch their flights back. We finished up the meeting and I needed caffeine badly since I had already been on the go now for over 14 hours.

Stopped at a Starbuck's grabbed coffee, did a Yelp review and headed to the hotel. Brand new Sandman Hotel and to my surprise and delight was a wonderful experience. It was either wonderful or I was so exhausted that it memorized me. See Yelp review for details if you must, otherwise I won't boar you here yet again with it.

Woke up Friday morning in the middle of the night because my body was still on Toronto time. Had a shower, got ready, packed my suitcase, did the email download, sync my blackberry playbook, checked my iPhone email, looked a Facebook updates and took the suitcase to the car. Went and had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (See Yelp review on the restaurant), and made my way to the airport in the gently falling snow covered roads, after spending 10 minutes cleaning off the car with the powdery snow. It was a nice morning, only 31 below...

The Prince George Airport is small, but the view is outstanding. Hopped into the little Dash -8 and headed back to Vancouver, read my book and looked out the window at the breathtaking Rockies.

Arrived in Vancouver to find that my flight to my surprise had been delayed. The wait was going to be another hour. Grabbed lunch, worked on emails, did the airport people watching thing which is always interesting.

Boarding planes is always funny. I usually arrive at the gate 10 minutes prior to boarding (staying in the maple leaf lounge as long as possible so I don't have to hear children screaming). I usually wonder over to the priority lane and when they make the announcements and the families with ankle bitters move forward ever so slowly, and the air Canada personal have assisted the elderly board, I slowly start to move forward, not that I'm being eager, I just want to get on board, pack my stuff away and settle in. I always find it funny that in the group of Elite and Super Elite are people that do not travel much and hop in line and play dumb. They are usually the ones that don't have their ID ready and start searching for their boarding passes just as they get to the Air Canada representative only to be told that they are not boarding their row yet, but usually the rep let's the newbie board just because they are tied or explaining that they person is really just stupid. I board and you can always tell the tone of your flight from the tone of voice the first person has when they great you as you take your first step on the plane. Of course you want them to be friendly and most of the time they are. They take your coat, offer you water or OJ, you find your seat and slide the window shades down, plug in your headphones, grab your book, laptop and close your eyes for the next 30 minutes as people board they plane making funny faces because the third suitcase they brought on board doesn't fit anywhere and that their friend or partner is sitting 4 rows back or that they have a middle seat. What are these people new, have they never been on a plane before? why are they surprised ?

Then I spend another five and a half hours on a plane, doing email, catching up on TIME I lost this week only to arrive in Toronto an hour late.

I waited for luggage, which is always anywhere from 30-45 minutes in Toronto and again it confirms that I would love to be a "ramp-rat" for Air Canada, where do I apply ?

I'm tired and in need of a good coffee or a breath mint and by the time I get home it was 9:30 on a Friday night. There is another day I won't get back and what a crummy way to end the week.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Now if your reading this today, you surfed my blog for a reason; please let me know what you think of my blog and sign up to follow me.....do something other than just read my dribble and leave... I've had to date over 80 people visit and not heard a word from anyone - what's happening ? tell me the good, the bad and the ugly.....how I can improve....

On another note Bryan and Tracy got a puppy !

Oh how cute he is - he is a boarder collie mix...he is 9 weeks old and I get to see he him this week when I go to Vancouver....can't wait.

A couple of days ago I received my new sofa - just in time for the new year !

I've been in this condo for just a year and it's ago time I started to make it feel a little more like home which I think I achieved. Ideally I was looking for the same type of sofa but upholstered in a men's suit flannel. After searching for many months, this is the closest thing I could find to it. I think it goes very well in the size of the space.

The next project to tackle is to finish painting and work on the dinning room, lighting and a new table.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Recently I was at my sisters for Christmas dinner and we had a family favorite for dessert and I thought I would share it. With this recipe, it can serve 4 .

Ingredients

1 pint vanilla ice cream

2 large oranges

4 egg whites

4 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

Scoop the ice cream into 4 balls and place them on plastic wrap and mould into balls and place in freezer until very firm, at least 4 hours.

Slice the oranges in half across the center and cut around the edges with a small knife. Remove the fruit and membrane, reserving the fruit and shells. Chop the orange sections and place them in the bottoms of the shells.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a clean glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites with an electric mixer until peaks, gradually beat in the sugar while continuing to whip until stiff and glossy.

Place the orange shells on a baking sheet and place a ball of ice cream into each one. Cover the ice cream ball with the meringue, sealing to the edges of the orange peel.

Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned. Remove and serve immediately.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

It's for me a kind of a happy and sad occasion when December approaches.
Happy for me, because you make arrangements to be with family and friends due to the holidays.
Sad because the year that might have been awesome is coming to an end and the new one begins.

Friends during the holidays; What are true friends? What do they mean to your ? Friends come in and out of your life throughout your life. It's a relationship that is always evolving and always takes allot of work. More than a marriage and I say that only because I've been married twice and the relationships didn't work out very well.

I've actually got a small group of friends really, not on-line friends that you never meet, or Facebook friends that you know but don't really socialize. Real Friends...you enjoy each others company, you speak on the phone regularly, you see each other and share a meal or a few pints. Your there for them when life is a rough road and hopefully they are there for you as well. If your lucky in life you have true friends.

Now family is with you throughout your life, all the time. They always have your back and your have theirs. I'm very lucky to have my parents who live about 40 minutes from me, if you have siblings, children, nieces, nephews, sister/brother in-laws and then is the rest of the family, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. it's a balancing act and hard to stay close. In the Norman Rockwell world, everyone is always together. The older I get I find it's harder to stay in touch with extended family.

When we were younger, we saw each other frequently, the older I get not so much. Again, it is a relationship that needs work. And I guess I've gotten jaded, but there is only so much time in life to do wonderful things and you make choices.

My choices are my parents, my sister, my son and my friends. If there is time to be with others that is great, but showing my history, I doubt that will happen. We are creatures of habit, socially, creatively, and mentally.

So this is my life; I'm 52, Single (twice divorced), one son who I love more than anyone in the world, a rich life filled with too many commitments. I absolutely love my job. Always had the opportunity to have fantastic jobs. I travel every week for work. Usually vacations are at home because I'm tired of traveling, but thinking that my vacation in March/April will be a beach, bar and book type of vacation.

So this is my journey, my blog, my diary of thoughts as I travel through life.....and most defiantly there will be espresso along the way.